BT revenues surge 35pc after acquiring mobile operator EE

Mobile again: BT acquired EE last year for £12.5bn, making it a serious player in the UK 4G market

Telecoms giant BT saw revenues grow 35pc to £5.7bn on the back of its acquisition of 4G player EE.

BT acquired EE last year for £12.5bn, returning the company to the mobile market it abandoned when it sold O2 to Telefónica.

Earlier this week, the company avoided a forced separation of its Openreach wholesale arm when Ofcom ruled that Openreach can be legally distinct within BT.

The company reported a profit before tax of £802m and EBIDTA of £1.8bn for its first quarter.

BT also undertook a business reorganisation that took effect on 1 April.

“We remain focused on improving customer experience and 100pc of EE pay monthly calls are now handled in UK and Ireland contact centres,” said BT CEO Gavin Patterson. “We’ve reduced engineer missed appointments by more than a third since last quarter and Openreach is again ahead on all 60 minimum service levels set by Ofcom.

“Fibre broadband is available to well over 25m premises and take-up remains strong. At a retail level, we performed well achieving a 79pc share of broadband net adds in the quarter,” Patterson added.

BT Ireland

In Ireland, where BT employs 600 people in five cities across the island, foreign exchange movements had an £8m positive impact.

Underlying revenue for BT in Ireland was up 1pc.

“We’ve had a solid performance in the first quarter of the year, driven by new contract signings with some of the leading technology, financial, retail and telecommunications companies operating in this market,” said BT Ireland chief executive Shay Walsh.

“We’re seeing increased demand for international connectivity from Irish-based multinationals, making us the largest fixed-line global provider here. In addition, data centre services, cloud and next-generation contact centres are growing revenue streams for us.

“We continue to be the second-largest fixed line wholesaler in the market, with over 50 communications providers using a BT service.”